Book Review: PostSecret: "Everyone has a secret. Frank Warren has several thousand of them, pasted and scribbled on four-by-six inch postcards, and locked away in stainless steel boxes. They're not all his secrets, though more than one of his own are among them. They are the responses to the PostSecret invitation… they are the most intimate secrets of thousands of people, which they have never shared with anyone before. PostSecret is described as 'an ongoing community art project where people mail-in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.' It began as an art project, evolved into a massively popular website, branched into a unique traveling art exhibit, and it is now a brand-new book. I procured a copy of this book today, and had a chance to give it a good, hard look. I also recently had the opportunity to converse with Frank... (More Inside)"

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Simple Memorizing Techniques: "Simple Memorizing Techniques - ‘I have a memory like a sieve.’ Who hasn't heard that lament many times from people convinced they have a terrible memory? The fact is, what we remember often has more to do with factors such as. . .From cw"

Lionhead Studios has released a tool that allows video game players to easily create their own machinima (wikipedia) and then export their work and upload it to the Web. In the past, only the most hard-core video game players created machinima. Even so, marketers already have started placing ads against machinima. On Heavy.com, for instance, a machinima called Pimp My Weapon, made from God of War, got 6 million streams in its first week.

The Movies positions the player as a Hollywood studio owner. In addition to the business management aspect of the game, players can shoot their own movie--designing costumes, choosing sets, adding subtitles, and dubbing audio, then upload it to a community site run by Lionhead, send it to friends, or post it online.

David Carson, from Heavy.com, explained that machinima have slipped under the entertainment establishment, but have capitalized on the growing popularity of video games. 'Nobody in Hollywood would've ever considered, 'Oh my God, this is great entertainment,' but people online say it is, and millions of people are watching it.' he said. 'The appeal is, it's all based out of video games. Anything that's a derivative of that game, people pay attention to it.'

Bush bashing Professor

Read the note that ignited national controversy(It's a shame that he had to resign)

Editor's note: The following is the complete, unedited e-mail from adjunct English professor John Daly of Warren County Community College in Washington, N.J. to Rebecca Beach, a 19-year-old freshman at the school who announced an Iraq war hero would be speaking on campus. Daly subsequently resigned from his teaching post Nov. 22.

November 13, 2005

Dear Rebecca:

I am asking my students to boycott your event. I am also going to ask others to boycott it. Your literature and signs in the entrance lobby look like fascist propaganda and is extremely offensive. Your main poster "Communism killed 100,000,000" is not only untrue, but ignores the fact that CAPITALISM has killed many more and the evidence for that can be seen in the daily news papers. The U.S. government can fly to dominate the people of Iraq in 12 hours, yet it took them five days to assist the people devastated by huricane Katrina. Racism and profits were key to their priorities. Exxon, by the way, made $9 Billion in profits this last quarter -- their highest proft margin ever. Thanks to the students of WCCC and other poor and working class people who are recruited to fight and die for EXXON and other corporations who earning megaprofits from their imperialist plunders. If you want to count the number of deaths based on political systems, you can begin with the more than a million children who have died in Iraq from U.S.-imposed sanctions and war. Or the million African American people who died from lack of access to healthcare in the US over the last 10 years.

I will continue to expose your right-wing, anti-people politics until groups like your won't dare show their face on a college campus. Real freedom will come when soldiers in Iraq turn their guns on their superiors and fight for just causes and for people's needs -- such freedom fighters can be counted throughout American history and they certainly will be counted again.

IOL: Nepal to probe mystery 'Buddha' boy: "IOL: Nepal to probe mystery 'Buddha' boy - At least 100 000 devotees from Nepal and neighbouring India have flocked in recent weeks to a dense forest in south-eastern Nepal to see 15-year-old Ram Bahadur Bamjon, who, his associates say, has been meditating without food or water for six months.I guess since it's not a Christian, it must be satanic.From Surfer"

Monday, November 28, 2005

A "trophy" video appearing to show security guards in Baghdad randomly shooting Iraqi civilians has sparked two investigations after it was posted on the internet, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal.VIDEO HERE

The video has sparked concern that private security companies, which are not subject to any form of regulation either in Britain or in Iraq, could be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent Iraqis."

Abuse worse than under Saddam: "Abuse worse than under Saddam - Human rights abuses in Iraq are now as bad as they were under Saddam Hussein and are even in danger of eclipsing his record, according to the country's first Prime Minister after the fall of Saddam's regime.'People are doing the same as [in] Saddam's time and worse,' Ayad Allawi told The Observer. 'It is an appropriate comparison. People are remembering the days of Saddam. These were the precise reasons that we fought Saddam and now we are seeing the same things.'From cw"

U.S. Government Wants to Spy on Internet Use: "The federal government wants to peer into your computer communications, forcing companies to design, or redesign, their networks to accommodate surveillance. The FCC gave broadband Internet service and voice-over-Internet Protocol services, or VoIP, 18 months to ensure that their networks are wiretap-ready."

Saturday, November 26, 2005

DARK SECRETS: BOHEMIAN GROVE EXPOSED!: "DARK SECRETS: BOHEMIAN GROVE EXPOSED! - Since 1873, the Global Elite Has Held Secret Meetings in the Ancient Redwood Forest of Northern California.Members of the so-called 'Bohemian Club' include Former Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon and Reagan. The Bush Family Maintains a Strong Involvement. Each Year at Bohemian Grove, Members of This All-Male 'Club' Don Red, Black and Silver Robes and Conduct an Occult Ritual Wherein They Worship a Giant Stone Owl, Sacrificing a Human Being in Effigy to What They Call the 'Great Owl of Bohemia.'From Nony"

Atomic Annie and Her Nuclear Projectile: "In 1953, the United States Department of Defense was conducting a series of nuclear weapons tests called Operation Upshot-Knothole. During this operation, eleven nuclear devices of varying yields were exploded at the Nevada Test Site, about sixty-five miles north of Las Vegas. Among those atomic explosions was a test called Shot Grable, where... (More Inside)"

CERN's Large Hadron Collider: "On the border of France and Switzerland, the CERN organization is building giant machine that they intend to use to smash together tiny particles at great speeds. It is called the Large Hadron Collider, or LHC for short. Currently under construction, it is planned to open in 2007, and physicists hope to use... (More Inside)"

Professional Farters: "Joseph Pujol, a man of singular talent, was born in Marseilles, France in 1857. In his early youth it became clear that he was a natural entertainer, singing, dancing, and performing for his parents' house guests. He had a love for music, and over the years he became handy with a trombone, but... (More Inside)"

Thursday, November 24, 2005

From Neill Blomkamp, the director of the Citroën Transformer ad, comes an unsettling and eerie tale of a close encounter of the third kind in Johannesburg, South Africa. Watch Alive in Joburg (rather large quicktime file) for some great special effects. The discrimination of visitors from another world makes for an interesting allusion to Apartheid, and something like this is what War of the Worlds should have been like.

Especially striking was a segment from Act 2 with about three and a half minutes left on the video, featuring Leonardo di Caprio, an actor I can’t name, and Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell (image 1, image 2). Quoted from this:

American Astronaut Al Warden had this to say when he got to the moon: ‘Now I know why I’m here, not for a closer look at the moon, but to look back at our home, the Earth.’

(…) Astronaut Fan Twan from Viatnam had a similar experience. ‘During the eight days I spent in space, I realized that mankind needs height. Primarily to better know our long suffering Earth — to see what cannot be seen closeup. Not just to love her dearly, but also to ensure that we do not bring the slightest harm to the natural world.’

I’ve recently become very interested in lunar astronauts, specifically the effect such a journey had on the remainder of their lives. I can’t honestly imagine any problem I currently dwell on that would persist, much less have any significance whatsoever, from the perspective of outer space, looking back at Earth. The mere idea of this is groundbreaking in terms of where we stand as a race of people, how we treat our home, and what kind of future we are making for ourselves.

Journalist Clive Thompson wrote this about Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean, in his review of Andrew Smith’s recent book, Moondust, a book that follows the lives of Apollo spacemen after their return home:

Alan Bean rode the Apollo 12 mission all the way to the moon, and on the way back he made a promise to himself: ‘I’m going to live my life the way I want to.’ So he resigned from NASA, holed up in a tiny condo and became an oil painter. In the decades since, the only thing he has ever painted has been scenes from his celestial journey: the hyperreal sheen of sunlight on a space helmet, the lunar orbiter slicing through the void. Physically, Bean was back on earth — but some part of him clearly never came home.

The Rear-View Helmet

"Manufacturers Reevu spent ten years developing the helmet, which has a built-in 180 degree unbreakable rear-view mirror system in the hope it will save lives on the roads by improving situational awareness and hence preventing accidents..."

Filmography: Tin Pan Alley Cats: "Last month, we posted images from a very hard to see Bob Clampett Warner Bros cartoon called, Coal Black And De Sebben Dwarfs. John Kricfalusi donated a broadcast quality copy of this film, along with many other rare cartoons. One of the best of the bunch is Clampett's 'Tin Pan Alley Cats'.

This film utilizes a considerable amount of reused animation, primarily from Clampett's 'Porky In Wackyland', but it adds so much more to the mix, the audience isn't cheated. The star of the cartoon is a cat caricature of Fats Waller, and also featured are caricatures of Adolph Hitler, Hirohito and Stalin! If you would like to see this cartoon, it is available for viewing during office hours at the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive in Burbank.

Thanks to John Kricfalusi for contributing this important film to our collection.

The archive will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. If you would like to volunteer on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, please email me at sworth@animationarchive.org.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Door thwarts quick exit for Bush: "Door thwarts quick exit for Bush - President George W Bush tried to make a quick exit from a news conference in Beijing on Sunday - only to find himself thwarted by locked doors.Never let yourself forget that this grinning buffoon is responsible for the death of over 2000 americans and 100,000+ Iraqis!From Nony"

From The Embassy Visual Effects Inc., the creators of a fairly popular transforming Citroën car commerical, comes a surprisingly realistic video of a robot policing the streets of a developing nation. Directed by Neill Blomkamp, it’s shot as a kind of conceptual corporate advertisement.

From the video:

A really skilled sniper, or somebody who’s trained a lot, can almost match that. But, introduce them to the stress and to the heat and to the cold and to the fatigue … they’re downhill … and this thing is just … it’s unbeatable.

Gregori Rasputin’s Last Will and Testament: "While most of us are quite familiar with the name Rasputin and some of the mysticism associated with him, not many are aware that he was allegedly quite the prophet. Not long before his death, he composed a last will and testament, addressed to the last Russian Tsar, Nikholai II. Here is a... (More Inside)"

Penthouse Interview With L. Ron Hubbard Jr.: "Penthouse Interview With L. Ron Hubbard Jr. - Scientology and all the other cults are one-dimensional, and we live in a three-dimensional world. Cults are as dangerous as drugs. They commit the highest crime: the rape of the soul.I believed in Satanism. There was no other religion in the house! Scientology and black magic. What a lot of people don't realize is that Scientology is black magic that is just spread out over a long time period. To perform black magic generally takes a few hours or, at most, a few weeks. But in Scientology it's stretched out over a lifetime, and so you don't see it. Black magic is the inner core of Scientology --and it is probably the only part of Scientology that really works. Also, you've got to realize that my father did not worship Satan. He thought he was Satan. He was one with Satan. He had a direct pipeline of communication and power with him. My father wouldn't have worshiped anything. I mean, when you think you're the most powerful being in the universe, you have no respect for anything, let alone worship.From cw"

The 21st Century Nazis Are Here: "The 21st Century Nazis Are Here - ... -'I want the government to hear my question and answer me: why were we treated like this? The police brigades broke even the electricity converters, we do not have power for 40 days, of course water pumps do not operate and the plants are all dead. Our animals were killed, our women humiliated. They ask the women where did you hide the men, they grabbed the children from their hair and throw them to the ground. Riyadh's mother was crying and begging them to leave her son; they hit her with the gun's end, they smashed his head with a brick in front of her eyes, now she is dying. When his body was found it was skinned Abbass was so old that he could not even walk, how he would be a terrorist!! He was beaten to death on the spot and his body was thrown in the drainage. When they searched the houses they did not find any indication that any of them had any thing to do with terrorism or weapons, so why? ...From Nony"

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Greenland’s Ice Caps Turning To Water At Record Rate, Scientists Predict Irreversibly

Greenland's glaciers have begun to race towards the ocean, leading scientists to predict that the vast island's ice cap is approaching irreversible meltdown, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.

Research to be published in a few days' time shows how glaciers that have been stable for centuries have started to shrink dramatically as temperatures in the Arctic have soared with global warming. On top of this, record amounts of the ice cap's surface turned to water this summer.

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Colors that Match

Friday, November 18, 2005

Match.com sued for sending its employees out as fake dates

Match.com is accused in a federal lawsuit of goading members into renewing their subscriptions through bogus romantic e-mails sent out by company employees. In some instances, the suit contends, people on the Match payroll even went on sham dates with subscribers as a marketing ploy...(filed under "bad" deals)

Marijuana's Active Ingredient Kills Leukemia Cells

Using what is fast becoming the most effective drug discovery technology, Microarray processing, The New Drug Study Group in London has discovered as possible link to Leukemia Treatment and THC in Marijuana.

Mimosa

Mimosa: three parts champagne to two parts orange juice; or, a genus of herbs and shrubs that includes the species Mimosa pudica, also known as the ‘Sensitive plant’ or ‘Sleeping grass’. ‘Pudica’ is Latin for ‘bashful’ or ’shrinking’ — in Chinese, the name translates to ’shyness grass’. When leaves are touched or subjected to rapid temperature changes, electrical signals are triggered that travel up the midvein, contracting each leaflet along the way. This type of response is known as nastic or nyctinastic movement. The following videos are in real-time — notice how with a stronger stimuli, the signal is redistributed to the rest of the leaf once it reaches the stem.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Kuwait's biggest field starts to run out of oil

Kuwait's biggest field starts to run out of oil: "Kuwait's biggest field starts to run out of oil - The peak output of the Burgan oil field will now be around 1.7 million barrels per day, and not the two million barrels per day forecast for the rest of the field's 30 to 40 years of life, Chairman Farouk Al Zanki told Bloomberg.He said that engineers had tried to maintain 1.9 million barrels per day but that 1.7 million is the optimum rate. Kuwait will now spend some $3 million a year for the next year to boost output and exports from other fields.However, it is surely a landmark moment when the world's second largest oil field begins to run dry. For Burgan has been pumping oil for almost 60 years and accounts for more than half of Kuwait's proven oil reserves. This is also not what forecasters are currently assuming. From cw"

Sony's Official Apology

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Meditation can boost your gray matter

Meditation can boost your gray matter: "Meditation alters brain patterns in ways that are likely permanent, scientists have known. But a new study shows key parts of the brain actually get thicker through the practice."

Monday, November 14, 2005

Don’t waste a moment of your precious life worrying about what other people will think of you. No good can come of it.

The truth is that you’ll waste far more energy imagining what others think of you than those people will ever invest in it themselves. Most people are far too preoccupied with their own lives to devote considerable attention to what you’re doing. While you’re worrying about what they think of you, they’re worrying about what you think of them. Just worrying your lives away…

Instead of being concerced with that others think, become concerned with what you think of yourself. Your opinion of yourself matters far more than the opinions of others, no matter how wise, intelligent, or well-meaning you think they are.

Realize that other people’s opinions of you are theirs alone and have very little to do with you. No one else really knows what you’re capable of. When you allow others to have their reaction without taking ownership of it yourself, you empower yourself.

Don’t fear that you’ll turn into some kind of inconsiderate, anti-social jerk if you stop being concerned with what others think of you. Even as you meet with resistance from others, you’ll be serving as a role model to help them overcome their own fears.

Whenever you stretch yourself to take bold new actions, like starting a new business or entering a new relationship, don’t be surprised to get a negative reaction from those around you. It’s common. Others may launch into long-winded explanations about why you’re doomed to failure. But there’s no need to let that stop you. Most of the time they’ll be speaking from fear, not love, anyway. Fear speaks from limitation; love speaks from possibility.

What happens if those other people were actually right though? What if you go out and fail big even after they warned you it would happen? It doesn’t matter. Even when they’re right, they’re still wrong. You’re supposed to go out and fail a lot. It’s perfectly OK for everyone around you to tell you you’re going to fail and for you to go out and fall flat on your face right in front of them. That’s supposed to happen. The real lesson is for you to learn to be OK with that.

Quite a number of times I’ve been warned by others not to do something, but I went ahead and did it anyway and failed just as they predicted. However, by failing on my own, I learned valuable new insights, and my future attempts along those same lines eventually led to success, sometimes even a major breakthrough. Those successes would never had occurred if I’d never set foot out the door.

The truth is that you’re going to fail — a lot. Get used to it! Make failure your friend. Those failures are not the opposite of success — they’re an integral part of success. Understand that it’s absolutely, perfectly fine to go out and start a new business and watch it go bankrupt. It’s fine to enter a new relationship and watch it blow up in your face. It’s fine to give a speech and get booed off the stage.

You’re supposed to fail. Failure is one of the best ways we humans learn and grow. So allow yourself to be human.

But even more importantly than that, you need to build self-confidence, self-knowledge, and self-trust. You need to learn what your true capabilities are. And you’ll never discover that by sitting still. Even you don’t know what you’re capable of until you’ve tried it, so how can other people possibly know? Just because they sound certain doesn’t mean they’re right.

Sometimes you’ll find that other people were indeed right about you (but only in the short term). But other times you’ll find they were dead wrong. It doesn’t matter what other people think you can do. What matters is what you can actually do. And in order to figure out what that is, you’ve got to go out and take some risks. You must attempt some of those things you aren’t sure you can accomplish.

Self-trust is a far greater possession than anything you might lose along the way. It’s not the end of the world if you lose all your material possessions, blow a big project, or make a complete fool of yourself. You can dust yourself off and keep right on going. But if you can’t trust yourself to take action on what you believe is best, then for you, that is the end of the world.

Consider what it was like for me to say to my friends last year, ‘You know… I’m going to stop doing game development and launch a new personal development business. And it’s going to be great.’ Do you think I received loads of support and encouragement to pursue this goal? Not remotely. Many people thought I was nuts. Some probably still do. And that’s perfectly OK, but it doesn’t affect my actions in the least. Why? Because I trust myself. Other people can’t see into my soul and know what I’m capable of. When they tell me I can’t do something, all I see is a person who’s very afraid and needs help breaking the pattern of fear.

If other people around you are showering you with ‘can’ts’ and ‘shouldn’ts,’ simply ignore them. Their fear has nothing to do with you. Put your faith in yourself. You may make some bad decisions at first, but in the long run, you’ll stretch way beyond your current limitations. And that’s when your greatest dreams will start to become reality.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

There is a lot of interesting work right now in the way of music interface design — with focus on creating ways for multiple people to collaborate in mixing and composing music in real time. Read on for a few of my favorite ideas, with more accompanying video and images. There are also links to many more designs I won’t elaborate on here, but have been thoroughly covered elsewhere.

Loopqoob

The brain-child of Murat N. Konar, this is a system of sensor-equpped cubes that manipulate a computer program generating music. Different aspects of the music are triggered based on the orientation of each cube. Cubes can be stacked and manipulated together to initiate broad changes in the composition.

TENORI-ON

Mentioned previously on CN, this device consists of a 16x16 matrix of touch sensitive LED lights, that trigger either a looped or single note depending on how they are pressed. The device has LEDs on both sides, so the performer and the audience can both see the design of the music being played. Designed by Toshio Iwai and Yamaha, this will be commercially available soon. No video is yet available that I can find, but the website has a lot of pictures, and the background music gives you an idea of what it can sound like.

JazzMutant Lemur

Lemur is an extremely configurable, multi-finger-sensitive touch screen interface for controlling and creating music. A number of different UI elements are available with a variety of behaviors to create your own custom controller. The videos and company website offer more insight into the workings of this device, as it must definitely be seen to be understood.

Audiopad

In many ways, the best has been saved for last. Created by James Patten and Ben Recht (aka localfields), I came across this a year or so ago, and it still strikes me every time I watch the videos. Using a projector that is mounted, facing down, above a surface with motion-tracked translucent markers, it allows for incredibly smooth and dynamic manipulation of a collection of loops. Beats and tunes can be triggered, filtered, sped up or down, and faded in or out, all in real time, with the ability to to handle multiple musicians.

Etc.

Many more such devices exist — some similar to those previous mentioned, and others leaning more towards sound generation than the creation and manipulation of listenable music. Here are a couple lists others have compiled (you’ll notice a lot of overlap between the two, but they each offer some things the other doesn’t):

Friday, November 11, 2005

Tin Foil Hats Proven Ineffective: "A recent study at MIT produced alarming results which throw the security of every paranoid person’s thoughts into question. It seems that the tin-foil hat– often the brain’s only line of information defense– is ineffective for the task of blocking government-controlled radio frequencies. In fact, in some cases, these aluminum anti-intrusion devices actually... (More Inside)"

Thursday, November 10, 2005

An excerpt from Dee-Blak's webblog

One of the guys I volunteer with has a blog. He wrote this after returning home from our weekly Wednesday night outing. He captured the mix of feelings of what it can be like out there trying to give hope to homeless people.

A brother had just had a stroke last night! Current mood: grateful Category: Life

We take so much for granted these daysWe worry about bills and car loans, and mortgagesI'm starting to envy the homeless people we meet each WednesdaySeems their only concern is where they will eat and where they will sleepCant really worry about anything else because it doesn't really matterI had a trunk full of blankets last night And with each stop the number got smaller and smallerThey almost fought over the clothes and shoesI wanted to cry as most of them walked away empty handedAnd as we pulled off for the next location I could see Different individuals runnin then stopping abruptly and turning around againThey had missed the food and water, they didn't get a blanket or a new used outfitThere is so much peace in givingI wish the entire world could understand the concept of givingGiving and not wanting in return is the ultimate giftGiving a need, giving a want, giving of selfSo I frown when they yell "get a job" at my homeless brothers and sistersWould want to see them try a get a job when they haven't bathed in a monthThen try maintaining a job when there is no adequate transportationThen try getting sleep for a job when there is no good place to lay your head each nightWhat about having energy for the job when there isn't enough money to eat each daySo at the end of each day I smile at my problemsI laugh at my worriesI have NO reason to ever raise my voice or get unrulyI am becoming like my street familyWe just don't have time to worryThe struggle of life is too fast as it isThe hustle moves 100miles a minute and you either hang on or get draggedRight now, I'm riding that monster like a redneck duck taped to a raging bullAnd even if I'm swung upside down I'll still be latched onWe riding until we die...

A brother had just had a stroke last night. His legs don't twisted as he stood against his cainBut yet he smiledHe smile and said " At least I'm still standing."And my brother Rodney hugged himA most powerful scene, but to us there...It was nothingIt was the least we could doHe called Lonnie J, "dread"And said "whets your real name"Then he knew all of us personallyHe knew he had friends nowAnd when he stood up to say goodbye I noticed somethingHe fought the uncomfort and straightened his legs.He sat his cane to the sideand he shook our hand like a manAMAZING what a little love can do

I haven't been to "church" in monthsBut each Wednesday, it feels like more church than I've ever been toOne night on the streets fills a void in my life that three weeks in church doesI truly understand how where only a few are gathered in his namethere he will rest as wellI can feel him in their smilesI see him around our cars and personal items as they remain untouched week after week.He gives us their respect and they give us their love and we give them us.

My life is full of problems on the backsideAnd as I told my wife, sometimes it seems that I have more peace on the streetsThan I have in my own homefrom uncles to cousins to strayed friends, home is a constant drama zoneBut on the streets each nightThere is just love.There is compassion.There is a giver and a takerThere are hustlers and grindersAnd the one common goal is to get to the next level in lifeWhile at home most American families waste moneyNo savingsNo InvestmentsNot one single asset only a life full of liabilitiesI've met so many on the streets that could take a $100 and make a millionOnly if they had the right opportunity.

I'm back in my element now!De'Blak is once again the unspoken sound that the streets surroundI'm the whisper in the night that wisps through the alleysI am the voice of struggleI am the son of redemptionI am the prince of the written wordI am the author of giving with nothing to gainI lie somewhere between the verb and the nounIf you are ever in ATL...Look for me

My reply below:I hope you don't mind if I pass this around a bit. You nailed the feeling I get when we go out there to help people. The emotions I get on those nights when we find sick, hungry or cold people laying in the gutter are very difficult for me to explain because I feel like I can never understand that kind of suffering yet I see such pride and nobility on some of these faces we see. And the occasional teary eyed reactions we get where people look at us with such awe and profound appreciation humbles me beyond words and I feel like I don't deserve to be present. Like I'm standing in front of God unable to look him in the face.

Bungie reveals Xbox 360 enhancements to Halo: "Commemorating the 1 year anniversary of Halo 2, Bungie has revealed the enhancements to Halo 1 and Halo 2 for Xbox 360. Xbox 360 can now display the graphics in wide screen, at 720p, with full scene anti-aliasing!"

Random sketchez: jay z

Monday, November 07, 2005

I find it intersting as well… the interesting question is, did their equipment pick up a real stray signal/sound, or are they fabricating the evidence? There is no real reason to believe that the phenomenon is supernatural when there are simpler explanations.

The early Middle Ages (614-911 A.D.) never happened?: "The Phantom Time Hypothesis suggests that the early Middle Ages (614-911 A.D.) never happened, but were added to the calendar long ago either by accident, by misinterpretation of documents, or by deliberate falsification by calendar conspirators.Check out why."

Evolution vote nears, scientists fight back (Reuters): "Reuters - At the new 'Explore Evolution' museum exhibit in Kansas, visitors pass a banner showing the face of a girl next to the face of a chimpanzee for a lesson on how the two are 'cousins in life's family tree.'"

Man glued to toilet seat, sues store (Reuters): "Reuters - A Colorado man who had a panic attack when he found he was glued to a toilet seat in a Home Depot restroom has sued the home improvement giant for negligence, saying staff ignored his plight."

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Bush Orders White House Staff to Take Ethics Refresher Class: "Bush Orders White House Staff to Take Ethics Refresher Class - President George W. Bush ordered the White House staff to take refresher classes on ethics rules in response to the indictment of Vice President Dick Cheney's top aide on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.From Nony"

Chomsky: "This Emma Brockes article/interview with Chomsky in the UK Guardian provokes this angry response and raises some awkward questions about right, wrong and the media. The Guardian itself has so far chosen not to lock horns, other than indirectly on its letters page."

Friday, November 04, 2005

A Cheney-Libby Conspiracy, Or Worse?: "A Cheney-Libby Conspiracy, Or Worse? - Indeed, when one studies the indictment, and carefully reads the transcript of the press conference, it appears Libby's saga may be only Act Two in a three-act play. And in my view, the person who should be tossing and turning at night, in anticipation of the last act, is the Vice President of the United States, Richard B. Cheney.From cw"

All about the bird flu: "All about the bird flu - How do you catch flu from a chicken? That is one of many questions on the minds of Americans who aren't sure how to react to scary headlines and ominous warnings about avian flu.From cw"

Yahoo Maps, now web two point ohier: "For the last six months or so, it's been a war between Yahoo and Google to see who can outdo each other. They're often releasing competing products at nearly the same time, but Google Maps has held the lead on coolest map for a while now. Yahoo finally countered today, releasing their beta maps, which work much like Google's, though it uses flash instead of javascript. I kind of like the little video game-style radar map in the upper right to show where you are in the bigger picture and the directions feature closeups on the left pane when expanded. Apparently all the cool API stuff works in it already, and they've released an events browser to show that off as well."

Denver votes to legalize marijuana: "Denver votes to legalize marijuana - Voters in Denver have passed a measure that makes it legal for residents over the age of 21 to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.From cw"

Pro-lifers pray for dead chicken: "Pro-lifers pray for dead chicken - Flowers and tributes were left in an alleyway where the body of a mystery dead baby was found - before police realised it was only a chicken foetus.The religion of stupidity strikes again! From Nony"

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Arcade Sounds: "Arcade Sounds.We recorded video games from 1982 until 1988. Fortunately I managed to save all fourteen audio tapes of video game sounds and arcade ambience which were recorded from a variety of locations in the US. Most of the recordings are from Ithaca, NY, Albany, NY and Ocean City, MD."

Ancient Wisdom: "Ancient Wisdom - Truly it has been said that there is nothing new under the sun, for knowledge is revealed and is submerged again, even as a nation rises and falls. Here is a system, tested throughout the ages, but lost again and again by ignorance or prejudice, in the same way that great nations have risen and fallen and been lost to history beneath the desert sands and in the ocean depths.

New Age Conference Threatened By Catholic Fundamentalists: "New Age Conference Threatened By Catholic Fundamentalists - ... Just a 2 weeks before the event was to take place, the Knights of Columbus breached their contract with the us, Crescent Moon Goddess, and decided to lock the doors on the festival. They contend that they have received many complaints and threats from Catholic organizations saying they would picket, protest and riot at the event...The religion of love and understanding strikes again!From Nony"

Friggin Religious Freaks! They Like Cancer Now!: "Friggin Religious Freaks! They Like Cancer Now! - A new vaccine that protects against cervical cancer has set up a clash between health advocates who want to use the shots aggressively to prevent thousands of malignancies and social conservatives who say immunizing teenagers could encourage sexual activity.Although the vaccine will not become available until next year at the earliest, activists on both sides have begun maneuvering to influence how widely the immunizations will be employed.From cw"

About Me

I've been drawing since I could walk. I love art. I'm a native New Yorker/ world traveler, father of 2. I started my career as a toy designer and transitioned to a cartoonist. I worked as a character artist for Disney for half a decade after which I got into the film industry where i was a storyboard / concept artist. I'm credited in several feature films commercials and music videos.